Kade Library & Archive
A public library and a climate-controlled city archive under one long roof on the old harbour quay.
One building, two climates.
The city asked for two things that rarely share a roof: a lively public library open until ten at night, and an archive where eleven kilometres of paper must stay at 18°C and 50% humidity for the next three centuries.
A quay without a front.
The site is a long, narrow strip of reclaimed harbour between a tram line and the water. We placed the archive as a heavy concrete core at the centre, and wrapped the library around it as a lighter, open ring facing the quay.
Heavy inside, light outside.
The archive’s thermal mass stabilises the whole building: the reading rooms borrow its cool in summer and its stored warmth in winter, cutting heating demand by more than half. Oak shutters on the facade open in the morning and close as the sun moves west.
Three materials, nothing hidden.
Board-marked concrete, untreated oak and lime plaster. Services run in exposed trays so the building can be re-wired without breaking a single wall — the next generation of librarians will thank us.
Drawing A-104, ground floor.
The competition sketch and the finished quay.
Gross floor area
Archive shelving
Lower heating demand
Visitors on an average day
